Paper-trimmer.



Patented Jan. 12, 1909.

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G. T. RIDGELY.

PAPER TRIMMER. APPLICATION FILED APB.18, 1907.

909,227. Patented Jan. 12', 1909.

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UNIT SATTL'IS PATENT OFFTQEO CHARLES 'l. RIDGELY, OF SPRINGFIELD, OHIO.

PAPER-TRIMMER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES T. RIDGELY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Springfield, in the county of Clark and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and Useful Improvements in Paper-Trimmers, of which the following is a specification, reference being bad therein to the accompanying drawings.

The present invention relates to paper trimmers of the character employed for trimming wall paper and for similar purposes.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved paper trimmer of this character, in which the pressure exerted upon the trimmer will be applied directly to the cutter blade and in such a manner as to a great extent eliminate the strain upon the straight-edge; to provide such a trimmer with a cutter blade which is adjustable toward and away from its support and the straight-edge; to so construct the trimmer as to reduce the friction between the working parts and rendering the same easier of operation; and further,to provide such a paper trimmer which may be manufactured at a comparatively low cost and in which the parts are readily interchangeable and may be readily renewed when they become worn or damaged.

WVith these objects in view my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and in certain parts and combinations to be hereinafter described, and then more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a trimmer embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is a transverse section, taken on the line 00 x of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of the gage; Fig. 5 is a similar View of the inner housing plate; Fig. 6 is a similar view of the guide plate for the gage; and Fig. 7 is a detail view of the cutter shaft and its adjustable stop in detached position.

In these drawings, 1 have illustrated the preferred form of my invention comprising a gage 1 which may be of any suitable construction, but, as herein shown, consists of a plate extending substantially the full length of the cutter and provided near its opposite ends with depending lugs 2 and 3, adapted to engage the vertical guide surfaces of the Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 18, 1907.

Patented Jan. 12, 1909.

Serial No. 368,875.

straight-edge. These guide lugs may be secured to the plate in any suitable manner. In the form here shown, the guide lug 2 is formed by providing the plate with an extension of greater width than the body of the plate and bending that extension in upon the body of the plate, thus providing the lug 2 adjacent to the end of the gage and out of alinement with the body thereof. The guide lug 3, as here shown, consists of a small plate of greater width than the adjacent portion of the plate forming the body of the gage and secured thereto in such a manner as to extend beneath the same and beyond the end thereof, the downwardly extending portion serving to form the second guide lug, while that portion of the plate extending beyond the end of the body portion of the gage is provided with inwardly bent lips 4, forming between their inner sides a guideway 5. The gage is provided near the end having the guide lug 2 with a shouldered screw 6, secured to the gage and forming a guideway between its head and the body of the gage.

To the outer side of the gage is secured a suitable guide plate adapted to engage the track on the straight-edge. This guide plate may be of any suitable construction, but is preferably detachable, and, as herein shown, consists of a plate 7 adapted to be secured to the body portion of the gage in any suitable manner, as by the screws 8, and having its lower portion 9 bent at substanially right angles to the upper portion thereof. This horizontally extending portion 9 is cut away to form a central portion 10 of less width than the width of the plate, which central portion is bent under the horizontal portion of the plate, as shown at 11, to form an inwardly extending lip adapted to extend beneath the track of the straight-edge and cooperate with the guide lugs 2 and 3 in retaining the gage in its proper position relatively thereto. The plate 9 is also preferably provided with suitable downwardly depending lips 12, which engage along the edge of the track of the straight-edge and assist in preventing lateral movement of the gage relatively to the track.

The casing or housing which carries the cutter is supported from the gage and consists of a vertical portion 13, having a flange 14 along the upper edge thereof which extends inwardly to a point above or beyond the gage 1, but is a sufficient distance above the upper edge of the gage to permit a free vertical movement relatively thereto. The rear end of the flange 14: is preferably enlarged and extends beyond the end of the housing to form a support 15 for the hand. The housing is provided intermediate its ends with an outward extension or hollow projection 16, provided'on one side with an aperture 17 and serving both as a bearing for the cutter shaft 18 and as a finger grasp, by means of which the operator grasps the trimmer. An inner housing plate 19 is secured within the housing and has its lower edge conforming substantially to the contour of the lower edge of the housing and its upper edge in contact with the housing at one or more points so as to retain the same in its proper position relatively thereto. The inner housing plate 19 is provided with an aperture 20, adapted to register with the open inner end of the hollow extension 16 when the plate 19 is in its proper position relatively to the housing. T iis plate is secured to the vertical wall 13 of the housing by suitable screws 21 extending through said vertical wall and engaging the threaded apertures 22 in the plate 19. The plate 19 is provided near one end With a slot 23 extending downwardly and rearwardly from the upper edge thereof and adapted to engage the screw 6 carried by the gage. The opposite end of the plate 19 is provided with reduced forwardly extending portion 24, forming a slide adapted to enter the guideway 5 formed in the front end of the gage. A. spring 25, of any suitable character, is interposed between the gage and the housing and serves to hold the housingnormally in an elevated position and permit the same to be depressed when it is desired to bring the cutter blade into operative engagement with the material to be operated upon. The cutter blade is preferably a rotary disk 26 and is mounted on the shaft 18 by means of a screw 27. The shaft 18 extends into the hollow projection 16 on the housing and is provided at its inner end with an annular groove 28, adapted to be engaged by an adjustable stop extending through the aperture 17 in said projection. This stop is here shown as an angle plate 29, having one arm in engagement with the annular groove 28 on the shaft 18 and its other arm extending along that portion of the projection 16, which lies between the aperture 17 and the vertical wall 13 of the housing, and provided with a suitable slot 30 adapted to engage a screw 31, which is inserted in the wall of the projection, thereby enabling the plate to be adjusted transversely of the trimmer, thus moving the cutter blade toward or away from the inner housing plate 19 and the straighbedge.

The operation of the trimmer will be readily understood from the foregoing de scription. The gage is placed in engagement with the straight-edge by inserting the track in the guideway formed by the lip 11 and is held against lateral movement thereon by means of the guide lugs 2 and 3 and the depending lugs 12 on the plate 7. With the parts in this position, the spring 25 will normally serve to hold the housing elevated and the cutter blade out of engagement with the material to be operated upon. When it is desired to operate the trimmer, the same is grasped in the hand with one finger gripping the projection 16 and the ball of the hand bearing upon the hand rest 15 and downward and forward pressure is then exerted upon the trimmer which serves to move the housing and the cutter blade, which is supported thereby,

downwardly and rearwardly through the medium of the slot 23 in the plate 19 and the pin 6 onthe gage, the rearward move ment being permitted by the sliding connection between the gage and the housing, which is formed by the insertion of the forwardly extending part 24 in, the guideway 5, formed by the lips 4 on the gage. This downward and rearward motion of the housing serves to bring the pressure directly upon the cutter blade and the sliding connection eliminates to a large extent the strain upon the straight-edge, thus preventing the distortion of the metal parts thereof and reducing the friction between the gage and the straight-edge; further, the elimination of the strain upon the straight-edge also obviates, the tendency to lift the straight-edge or shift the same upon the paper when extreme pressure is applied to the trimmer, which tendency is present in pivoted cutters; further, both the gage and the inner housing plate 19 are made of smooth cold rolled steel so that the contact surfaces of the moving parts are very smooth and the friction between the same is reduced to a minimum, thus enabling a much lighter spring to be employed to lift the housing and return the cutter to its operative position than can be employed where the parts are cast and the working surfaces afterwards milled off, as the milling process leaves a certain amount of roughness on the surface of the casting. Thus, by employing the smooth working surfaces 1 provide a trimmer which is easier of operation, due both to the small amount of friction between the parts on the downward movement of the housing and to the light spring which is employed to return the housing to its uppermost position, the tension of which must be overcome before the cutter can be brought into engagement with the material. With the exception of the outer housing, the parts are stamped from sheet metal and are of a uniform size and shape, thus enabling the parts to be readily removed and replaced when worn or damaged. It will further be observed that I have provided a cutter blade which is readily adjustable both as to the surface of the straight-edge and as to the inner housing plate 19. This feature is of importance, not only to secure the desired cutting relation between the straight-edge and the edge of the disk, but by making the shaft and cutter adjustable, the cost of manufacturing the cutters is greatly reduced, as the adjustability of the shaft enables cutters of various thickness to beemployed on the same trimmer. Thus, in manufacturing the cutter it is only necessary to grind down one side of the disk to a true plane, regardless of the thickness thereof, while, if the cutter is non-adjustable, the same must be ground to an exact thickness, which is a difficult process and adds greatly to the cost of manufacture of the cutter.

I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, for obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a paper cutter, the combination,with a casing, and a cutter carried thereby, of a support for said casing, and means for iniparting a downward and a rearward movement to said casing relatively to said support.

In a paper cutter, the combination, with a casing having a downwardly and a rearwardly extending slot near one end thereof, and a cutter carried by said casing, of a support for said casing, a part carried thereby and adapted to engage said slot, and a sliding connection between the other end of said casing and said support.

8. in a paper cutter, the combination,with a. casing having a downwardly and rearwardly extending slot near one end thereof, a forwardly extending part at the opposite end thereof, and a cutter carried by said casing, of a support for said casing, a pin carried thereby and adapted to engage said slot, and a guideway carried by said support and adapted to receive the forwardly extending part of said casing.

4c. In a paper cutter, the combination, with a casing comprising an outer housing and an inner housing plate having a downwardly and rearwardly extending slot near one end thereof, a forwardly extending part at the opposite end thereof, and a cutter carried by said casing, of a support for said casing, a pin carried thereby and adapted to engage said slot, and a guideway carried by said support and adapted to receive the forwardly extending part of said casing.

5. In a paper cutter, the combination,with

a housing having a downwardly and rearwardly inclined slot at one end thereof, and a forwardly projecting part at the opposite end thereof, of a gage having the edges of its forward end bent inward to form a guideway for the forwardly extending part of said housing, a pin near the opposite end of said gage adapted to engage the slot in said housing, and means for securing said gage to said straight-edge.

6. In a paper cutter, the combination, with a casing comprising an outer housing of cast metal, an inner housing plate of smooth steel detachably secured to said housing and having a rearwardly and downwardly extending slot near one end thereof and a forwardly extending part at the opposite end thereof, of a comprising a smooth steel plate having one end enlarged and bent inward upon itself to form a guide lug, and a smaller plate secured to said plate at the opposite end thereof and extending below the same to form a guide lug and extending beyond the forward end thereof and provided with lips which are bent inwardly and towards one another to form a guideway adapted to receive the forwardly extending part on said inner housing plate, and a pin carried by said gage and adapted to enter the slot in said inner housing plate.

'7. In a paper cutter, the combination, with a housingiand a cutter carried thereby, of a gage comprising a plate having guide lugs adapted to engage the vertical guide surfaces of said straight-edge, and a guide plate detachably secured to said first-mentioned plate and having its lower portion bent outward and then inward to form a lip adapted to engage the track of the straight-edge.

8. In a paper cutter, the combination,with

a housing and a cutter carried thereby, of a gage comprising a metal plate having guide lugs adapted to engage the vertical guide surfaces of the straight-edge, and a guide plate detachably secured thereto and having its lower portion bent outward and then inward to form a lip adapted to engage the track of the straight-edge, and lugs carried by said guide plate to engage the edge of said track.

9. In a paper cutter, the combination, with a support, and a housing having a bearing therein, of a shaft journaled in said bearing and having an annular groove therein, a cutter disk secured to one end of said shaft, and a stop adjustably secured to said housing and engaging said annular groove.

10. In a paper cutter, the combination, with a support, a housing carried thereby, and a hollow projection on said housing having an aperture therein and forming a bearing, of a shaft journaled in said hollow projection and having an annular recess near one end thereof in alinement with said aperture, a cutter disk secured to the opposite end thereof, and a plate adjustably secured to said projection and having a portion extending through said aperture and engaging said annular recess.

11. In a cutting tool, a gage, a head or frame inovably connected to said gage, an arbor carrying a cutting disk journaled in said head, a groove in the end of said arbor and a projection adjustably secured to said frame and projecting into said groove.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

CHARLES T. RIDGELY. Witnesses:

E. O. HAGAN, EDWARD L. REED. 

